The Peanut Butter Falcon

The Peanut Butter Falcon is one of those films I like to recommend to people who say “They don’t make movies like they used to anymore.” Sweet, innocent, and traditional – it’s all those things. Furthermore, the film isn’t a remake, a sequel or a comic book adaptation. It’s the very antithesis of what’s popular at the megaplex these days. The fact that it even got financed at all is something of an anomaly. For some, that description won’t be enticing. However, I most definitely mean that as a strong endorsement. This, despite the fact that the plot isn’t particularly innovative.

The Peanut Butter Falcon is the straightforward account of a young man with Down syndrome who escapes from a retirement home. He longs to become a professional wrestler. The bizarre title refers to the stage name that Zak ultimately adopts. He idolizes a fighter named The Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church). It is Zak’s dream to locate his hero and attend his wrestling school. This is advertised on a timeworn VHS tape that Zak has watched hundreds of times. His roommate Carl (Bruce Dern) wants to help him accomplish that goal and so Carl helps him escape. Zak stows away on a boat owned by crab fisherman Tyler (Shia LaBeouf). Tyler is on the run too after setting fire to the business of rival fisherman Duncan (John Hawkes) and his sidekick heavy Ratboy (rapper Yelawolf). Zak and Tyler are both runways. They have this in common, but that’s the only thing. The unlikely duo team up for an epic adventure beginning in the Outer Banks and drifting south down the stagnant swamps of North Carolina. Eleanor (Dakota Johnson) is a sympathetic social worker at Zak’s nursing facility that goes in search of her missing resident. Co-director Tyler Nilson (also boasting the same first name as Shia’s character) is originally from the Tar Heel State. The love for his childhood home comes through in the atmospheric details of the production. This fable set amongst these backwood swamps and marshes has a fully realized languid quality that is assisted by the picturesque cinematography of Nigel Bluck.

At the heart of this simple tale is actor Zack Gottsagen who has Down syndrome. He gives a convincing performance that is both warm and natural. The background of how this picture got made is an uplifting anecdote in itself. Writers and directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz first met their leading man at Zeno Mountain Farm, an acting camp in Southern California. Gottsagen had studied his craft for many years. The filmmakers were captivated by his talent that had gone unfulfilled. They were inspired to write a starring vehicle for him. What started out as a short story ultimately developed into a feature. The chronicle entertains by appealing to the emotions. Far more jaded types will describe this as manipulative and sentimental. True, the relationships do progress in ways that are easy to predict. The saga of Zak and Tyler is a classic buddy movie of a burgeoning friendship. The portrait could be superficially criticized for that quality, but there’s something really authentic about the way the narrative mines emotion. As the old adage goes, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” This is a composition made up of human interactions and the way those people emotionally connect on an elemental level. There’s a purity to the setup that shares a commonality with Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Simply watching their rapport evolve is the account. It doesn’t get more complicated than that. Yet it is that very simplicity that makes this flick so poignant.

The rest of the cast is equally affecting. These established professionals were perhaps motivated by the guileless sincerity of the lead. Shia LaBeouf (Nymphomaniac) and Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey) aren’t exactly the first names you’d associate with a production that is so decidedly wholesome. Yet they both bring a genuine warmth and humanity to their characters. Together this trio forms a closeness that is as engaging as any relationship I’ve seen this year. Additionally, John Hawkes, Bruce Dern, and Thomas Haden Church appear in supporting parts that deeply benefit the little scenarios that occur throughout the drama.

There has been no shortage of heartwarming movies in 2019: The Upside, Shazam!, Toy Story 4, Yesterday, Blinded by the light, and Good Boys are just a few of the titles that could be classified as such. In a year filled with many inspiring movie choices, The Peanut Butter Falcon just may be the “heartwarming-est” production of the year. Indeed it won an Audience Award at South by Southwest back in March and its long journey to achieve a widespread release has finally arrived. Please do enjoy this wonderful film immediately.